Tasman Series 1976

Tasman Series 1976

NEW ZEALAND : PETER STUYVESANT INTERNATIONAL SERIES

1976 NZ Season Round 1 Pukekohe : 23rd New Zealand Grand Prix Round 2 Manfeild : 3rd Manfeild International Round 3 Wigram : 25th Lady Wigram Trophy Round 4 Teretonga : 19th Teretonga International

AUSTRALIA : ROTHMANS INTERNATIONAL SERIES

1976 Aust Season Rounds 1 - 4 Australia

PETER STUYVESANT CHAMPIONSHIP, 1976

Driver
Ken Smith Bruce Allison Jim Murdoch Kevin Bartlett Graeme Lawrence Brian Redman Paul Bernasconi Max Stewart John Edmonds Graham Baker

Nat
NZ Aust NZ Aust NZ

P
9 6 2 4 3 1

M
4 1 6 3 9

W
9 3 6

T
6 3 2 4 9

Points *
24 16 10 9 9 9 9 9

UK
Aust Aust

4 2 1

Aust
NZ 2

3 2

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Tasman Series 1976

Baron Robertson

NZ

* Drivers counted all races. Points: First 9, second 6, third 4, fourth 3, fifth 2, sixth 1 P M W T Round 1 Pukekohe Round 2 Manfeild Round 3 Wigram Round 4 Teretonga

ROTHMANS CHAMPIONSHIP, 1976

Driver
Vern Schuppan Ken Smith

Nat
Aust NZ UK Aust Aust Aust

OP
9 4 6 2

A
6 9 2

S
6 3 9 4

SP
-

Points *
21 16 9 8 6 4 1 1

John Cannon
Kevin Bartlett John Goss John Leffler David Purley John McCormack

UK
Aust

* Drivers counted all races. Points: First 9, second 6, third 4, fourth 3, fifth 2, sixth 1 OP A S SP Round 1 Oran Park Round 2 Adelaide Round 3 Sandown Round 4 Surfers Paradise (Cancelled)

Tasman Series 1975 Back to Tasman Series

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1976 Season New Zealand

1976 Season New Zealand

THE 1976 SERIES
There was no Tasman Series for 1976. For 12 years, the Tasman motor racing series had been the premiere event on both the New Zealand and Australian motor racing calendars. Originally devised as a true international contest, to bring the world's best drivers down under, and to give the locals the chance to try themselves against world class drivers, the series was no more. The two countries split and ran their own four race series. New Zealand ran its normal four races under the sponsorship of Peter Stuyvesant, and this was followed one week later by a four race series in Australia, sponsored by Rothmans. There was also uncertainty about the future of the F5000 formula. Nobody knew what was going to happen after 1976. There was all-sorts of talk as to what the new formula might be and as such nobody was prepared to invest in new machinery at this time. New Zealand had also announced that the series would be limited to engines over three litres. Now the battle was on between the two countries to attract top line drivers for their series. Australia was quick to announce they had John Cannon, Vern Schuppan and David Purley, along with their own top drivers and a host of new up and coming drivers. When New Zealand made their announcement, it was very disappointing. There was only one driver who was not from Australia or New Zealand. He was Brian Redman, the English born, American based driver who for a short time had driven Formula One for the Shadow team, and had been twice L&M Champion in the USA. Redman had been teamed up with young Australian Alan Jones, and the pair were scheduled to drive a pair of March 751's powered by the 3.4 litre Cosworth V6. Unfortunately the deal fell through just weeks before the series was about to start. Jones had no contract, but Redman did, so another deal was quickly put together with Fred Opert in the USA, who was keen to have Redman drive for him. He purchased the latest Chevron B29 F2 car, which was powered by a 2 litre BMW motor. So much for the rules governing engine sizes, Redman's entry was accepted. David Purley had also agreed to come to New Zealand with a March V6, but was told there was not enough money available to bring him as well as the Redman / Jones team. When their deal fell through Purley was re-approached, but he had upped his price further and became too expensive. Ten Australians had been secured for the series, but of these only five turned up to do all
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1976 Season New Zealand

four races and John McCormack only had enough money to do the Grand Prix. The 1975 Tasman Champion, Warwick Brown, was also not competing as he could not reach an agreement with the organisers concerning his guarantee. He came anyway, without his car, accompanying Bruce Allison and acted as a very experienced helper for him. The other ironical fact was that Paul Bernasconi turned up with a Lola T400, the car that Redman had used in the L&M Series in the US. Of the rounds, unfortunately it was the worst race, round three at Wigram, that got all the publicity. Motoring News of England said "The once prestigious Tasman Championship slumped to its lowest level yet when the New Zealand race at Wigram Airfield turned into a complete shambles minutes after the start. The Series is finished. And Sunday's showing at Christchurch looked like the end of the road for F5000 in New Zealand". Even New Zealand's own Motor Action described the Lady Wigram Trophy race as "one of the most disastrous big races ever held in NZ with only five cars contesting most of the event". Criticism notwithstanding, it was Ken Smith's series. Not only did the diminutive New Zealand driver take out the 1976 Peter Stuyvesant Series but he also won the NZ Grand Prix as well.

Back to 1976 Series

Round 1 Pukekohe

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1976 Pukekohe

1976 Round 1 Pukekohe

Round One: PUKEKOHE

23rd New Zealand Grand Prix

Not unexpectedly, New Zealand's prestige race, the New Zealand International Grand Prix attracted a healthy entry of 16, although two, Graham Baker and Gary Love, both with Begg F5000's, did not appear. The only car to start the race, which wasn't a F5000, was the Fred Opert two-litre Chevron B29 BMW, to be driven by twice winner of the American F5000 series, Brian Redman. The Pukekohe circuit was set up with two chicanes as arranged for the 1974 and 1975 races. During practice, Ken Smith finally overcame the handling difficulties he'd been experiencing with his Lola T332 by fitting a set of new tyres. He immediately slipped from hard-fought 62s to a 61.4s front row grid time. Graeme Lawrence had secured pole with a 60.9 sec lap in his Lola T332, while Max Stewart worked hard in his Lola T400 at whittling his best down to 61.7s for third fastest. The next two drivers, John McCormack and Bruce Allison, were more than a second away from Stewart, both on 62.8 seconds. Redman was credited with a 63.0 sec best lap, much to the surprise of the English-born driver. Even his team didn't recall clocking him at that sort of a time. Murdoch recorded 63.1s and Bartlett 63.4s. Calgher and Hughes did 74.2s and 74.6s respectively and officials considered this too slow to be permitted a start. Therefore only 12 cars actually faced the starter, making it one of the smallest-ever grids in a New Zealand Grand Prix. Drivers had been warned that anyone missing out a chicane would be penalised three seconds. This was brought about after constant missing of the chicane by drivers during the 1975 race. Smith shot across Lawrence's Lola into the lead from the rolling grid, hotly pursued by Stewart, McCormack, Allison, Lawrence, Bartlett and Murdoch. Redman, aware of the three second penalty he could incur, rocketed past seven cars through the chicanes to take the lead in his two-litre Chevron. With the penalty applying, he still had a very handy lead. For two laps Brian was leader in the Grand Prix, he'd had his bit of fun. Stewart was now leading, having passed Smith on lap 2 and the flying Chevron a lap later. On the fifteenth lap. Smith was relegated to third place as Lawrence slipped through to take up second, running seven seconds in arrears of the Sharp car. On lap 8, Booth was already being lapped and Edmonds had an off at the Esses, needing to pit to have the nosecone fixed. Lawrence was lapping quickest in the race and was reeling in Stewart as McCormack pitted the Elfin with a puncture in his right front tyre. The twice winner rejoined the race in eighth place, at a rapid rate but had a lose on lap 20, bending the front suspension. He pitted to have it fixed as best as possible, continuing the race a number of laps down. Three laps later, Lawrence shot past Stewart down the back straight and into the lead. In third was still Smith, followed by Allison and Bartlett. The whole aspect of the race changed as the leading group came around to complete their 28th lap. Both Lawrence and Stewart headed for the pits and Smith flashed past into a 25 second lead over second driver Allison, driving his Lola T332. Lawrence's Chev engine was suffering from broken valve springs, while Stewart had a puncture. Stewart returned to the track, but only did one more lap and returned to the pits with an oil trail following him. He had a creased sump, caused by a misplaced jack being used to change the wheel. The racing was over except for the continuing Bartlett / Redman dice, which was still raging when the chequered flag fell for Ken Smith. Bruce Allison drove a good race to take second place. Ken Smith became the first resident
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1976 Pukekohe

New Zealander to win the New Zealand International Grand Prix since it commenced back in 1954. The only other New Zealanders to have won the prestigious event were Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon.

23rd New Zealand Grand Prix Date: 4th January 1976 Venue: Pukekohe 58 laps of 2.816kms (163.33kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Ret Ret

Ken Smith Bruce Allison Kevin Bartlett Brian Redman Jim Murdoch Paul Bernasconi
Baron Robertson

NZ

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

58 58 57 57 56 55 48 48 43 40 29 29

61m 42.5s 62m 02.0s

Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 UK
NZ NZ Chevron B29 / BMW 2000cc 4cyl

Begg 018 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Elfin MR6 / Repco 4994cc V8 Aust Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 NZ
NZ

John McCormack John Edmonds Robbie Booth Graeme Lawrence Max Stewart

Katipo M70 / Ford 4940cc V8

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Engine Oil Loss

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 NZ NZ

NZ

DNQ Ross Calgher DNQ Peter Hughes DNA Graham Baker DNA Gary Love

McLaren M4A / Cosworth 1840cc 4cyl Brabham BT29 / Fiat 1600cc 4cyl
Begg FM5 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 (Record).

NZ

Fastest lap: Graeme Lawrence, 61.4 sec

Back to 1976 Series

Round 2 Manfeild

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1976 Manfeild

1976 Round 2 Manfeild

Round Two: MANFEILD 3rd Manfeild International

Max Stewart proved master of the wet conditions which prevailed during the second round of the Peter Stuyvesant Series, held for the first time on the Manfeild circuit at Fielding. This was the first time in many years that Levin did not host a round in the International Series. An incredible 10,000 spectators braved the shocking conditions, but they didn't mind, as this circuit was better from a spectator point of view, because you could virtually see most of the circuit from the stands. The entry list was almost the same as the week before, except McCormack had returned to Australia and Peter Hughes didn't come. Their places were filled by Graham Baker and Gary Love in their Beggs and Frank Radisich in his rotary powered March. Brian Redman, puzzled with the Chevron's mediocre braking performance, phoned England and learned that the problem was the American Goodyears tyres he was using in New Zealand. The car was set up in the UK on English Goodyears. Kevin Bartlett had a new single plane crank Chev engine fitted to his Lola T400. During the first practice session, Graeme Lawrence had a head gasket blow, which he replaced before session two, while Paul Bernasconi's Chev engine cracked both its cylinder heads. Ken Smith was fastest in the first session with a time of 62.5 seconds, only 0.1 sec quicker than Lawrence, before his Lola was sidelined. Also under 63 seconds was Max Stewart on 62.8. Fourth fastest in this session was Bruce Allison, who did a 63.9 before his brand new Chev engine broke a con-rod. His crew took the Lola away to build one good engine from the one in the car and last week's GP engine. Radisich also blew his clutch during the practice. In the second practice, Lawrence grabbed pole with a 61.4 sec lap and alongside him was Smith on 61.6. Max Stewart also improved on his first session time to clock 61.7 sec, still third fastest. Driving his Begg 018, Jim Murdoch reeled off a 63.2 sec to place fourth on the grid, then rammed an earth bank when a half shaft universal broke. The car was badly damaged and would not start in the race. Love's practice time of 77.6 secs was deemed not quick enough for him to be allowed to start. Race day was extremely wet and Redman was happy as he knew the Chevron would do well in the conditions, compared to the big V8's. Both Lawrence and Smith made good starts from their front row grid positions, with Lawrence emerging in the lead out of the first turn, with Stewart elbowing into second place and the incredible Redman looking for a way around him. Brian looked set to get past at the next corner but the two cars touched and the Chevron went spinning off onto the grass. But the English driver was quickly back on the track again, down to sixth place. By the second lap the order was Lawrence, Stewart, Bartlett, Allison, Smith, Redman and Bernasconi. Kevin Bartlett was pulling away from the cars behind him. Redman took the two-litre car past Smith's Lola around Dunlop on lap two and then took Allison's car a lap later to move up to fourth place. The wet conditions were definitely suiting the Chevron. On lap 7, Bartlett's good run started to turn sour when his new engine, which had been playing up, caused him to spin at Firestone. The Sydney driver headed for the pits for a new nose cone, losing about a lap. By about onethird distance, Lawrence's lead over Stewart had stretched to twelve seconds but at the end of the next lap the luckless New Zealand driver slowed and pitted with a broken rocker. He was in the pits for about five laps while it was replaced. Stewart was now in the lead, 18 seconds clear of Redman and another nine seconds to Smith, who was closing on the less powerful Chevron. While busy watching Ken's Lola in his mirrors, Brian spun, letting the NZGP winner into second place. But a faulty front tyre had become worse and Smith was forced to slow, allowing Redman through to second again.
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1976 Manfeild

The track was drying and Smith's bad tyre finally threw its tread, leading to a spin. He pitted for a tyre but his crew only had slicks to fit to the car. The smooth tyres did not work well on the cold damp surface, however. Having built a 40 second lead with five laps to go, Stewart was able to slow to keep control of his Lola, which had an almost-flat left rear tyre. Redman was now safe in second now that Smith wasn't a threat and Allison, after a steady drive, had secured third spot to give him a total of 10 points for the two rounds, to lead the Series from Stewart, Redman and Smith, all with nine points each.

3rd Manfeild International Date: 11th January 1976 Venue: Manfeild 50 laps of 3.025kms (151.27kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

1
2

Max Stewart Brian Redman Bruce Allison Paul Bernasconi Graham Baker Kevin Bartlett
Baron Robertson

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 UK

Chevron B29 / BMW 2000cc 4cyl

50 50 50 49 48 47 47 46 45 42 38 21 0

1hr 0m 26.4s 1hr 0m 38.2s 1hr 1m 31.6s

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Ret

Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8
NZ NZ NZ Begg FM5 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Graeme Lawrence Ken Smith Robbie Booth Ross Calgher John Edmonds

NZ NZ NZ
NZ NZ

Katipo M70 / Ford 4940cc V8 McLaren M4A / Cosworth 1840cc 4cyl

March 722 / Mazda 13B 2700cc Rotary

Aust Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 Begg 018 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Puncture Engine Accident

DNS Frank Radisich DNS Jim Murdoch

DNQ Gary Love

NZ

Fastest lap: Graeme Lawrence, 69.3 sec.

Back to 1976 Series

Round 3 Wigram

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1976 Wigram

1976 Round 3 Wigram

Round Three: WIGRAM

25th Lady Wigram Trophy

The small team of cars headed to the South Island for the third round of the series at Wigram. Booth, Calgher and Radisich didn't make the trip, but Neil Doyle dusted the cobwebs off his Surtees to give it another run, having fitted a brand-new Chev engine. Ken Smith put himself in a good position to win the 1976 Peter Stuyvesant Series when he added the Lady Wigram Trophy race to his NZGP title at Christchurch. It was one of the most disastrous big races held in New Zealand, with really only five cars contesting most of the event. Both practice sessions were of only 20 minutes duration, less than the scheduled 30 and 35 minutes respectively, which would have been almost as bad. Not only that, scheduled times were altered, without notifying all drivers. Kevin Bartlett still had the single plane crank Chev installed in his Lola and a new metering unit seemed to have cured the miss which plagued him in round two. Even so, the best Kevin could manage was a 69.8 sec which put him on grid position three behind Smith on 67.5 sec, and Stewart on 67.8 sec. Graeme Lawrence was fourth fastest having done a 70.3 sec lap before blowing a head gasket. However, he was destined not to start, having fixed that, a rod let go in his Chev engine in a pre-race practice. Doyle recorded an 82.1 sec lap before his new engine disintegrated with rods out of both sides of the block. He packed the car away again, not having a spare engine to use. During practice Allison also blew an engine and Murdoch blew his head gaskets. Love and Robertson both missed their practice session and a special run was held for them. Love didn't qualify, but in the end was allowed to start when the organisers were desperate for numbers to start the race. There were now only 11 competitors ready to face the starters flag, however when the field rolled around on the pace lap, there were only 10 as Robertson was still in the pits receiving attention. From the flag, Smith led clearly into the first corner from Bartlett, Stewart, Bernasconi and Redman. With two laps gone, Stewart was in second and three seconds away from Smith. Then both the T400 Lolas of Stewart and Bartlett pitted with inoperable oil pumps. Blame for this was laid on the starters for doing two rolling start laps at a snails pace. Baker was also out with a collapsed piston and Love was in the pits having a flat battery seen to. Bruce Allison now found himself in second spot. With three laps of the 44 lap race gone, only six cars were on the track. On entering the fifth lap, the BMW engine in Redman's Chevron broke a rod and, ten laps later, Allison had a tyre burst. The Lola was sent spinning onto the grass but Bruce gathered it up and headed for the pits. He rejoined the race in fourth place behind Bernasconi and ahead of Edmonds. Robertson finally joined the race after 12 laps had been completed and Love came back later in the race after borrowing the battery out of Redman's retired Chevron. There was nothing to watch, although Smith was motoring fairly quickly, finishing the 44 laps at an average speed of 180 km/h and over a lap ahead of second placed driver Jim Murdoch in his Begg 018. On the same lap in third and fourth were Paul Bernasconi and Bruce Allison. To add further insult to what was certainly a shambles, Robertson was awarded sixth place and some prize money for only 29 laps, while Love also got some for a miserable 14 laps.
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1976 Wigram

Ken Smith's round three win gave him a total of 18 points, eight clear of Allison, who was the only other driver with a chance.

25th Lady Wigram Trophy Date: 18th January 1976 Venue: Wigram Airfield 44 laps of 3.43kms (150.9kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Ken Smith Jim Murdoch Paul Bernasconi Bruce Allison John Edmonds
Baron Robertson

NZ
NZ

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

44 43 43 43 40 29 14 4 3 3 3

51m 53.9s

Begg 018 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8
NZ Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Chevron B29 / BMW 2000cc 4cyl

Gary Love

NZ UK

Ret Brian Redman Ret Kevin Bartlett Ret Max Stewart Ret Graham Baker DNS Graeme Lawrence DNS Neil Doyle

Engine Oil Pump Oil Pump Piston Engine Engine

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 NZ
NZ NZ

Begg FM5 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Surtees TS9 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Fastest laps: Ken Smith 1 min 8.0 sec.

Back to 1976 Series

Round 4 Teretonga

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1976 Teretonga

1976 Round 4 Teretonga

Round Four: TERETONGA

19th Teretonga International

The 1976 Peter Stuyvesant Series petered out at Teretonga, with Ken Smith winning the title by coming home second to Graeme Lawrence, who finally got it all together for a well-deserved victory. Third, after a great battle, with Bruce Allison, was Kevin Bartlett, with Brian Redman sitting behind this duo until he retired with damaged wheel studs. Allison virtually had to win the fourth round to have any chance of beating Smith, and he was ready to try. His Lola had been stripped and checked and the Wigram engine had been rebuilt with the demon heads used at Pukekohe. Baker and Doyle didn't show up at Teretonga, and after practice organisers decided Love's qualifying time of 69.9 sec was too slow, and he was not permitted to start. In the second session of practice, Lawrence served notice of his intentions when he lapped the circuit in 52.9 seconds, one second under Graham McRae's lap record. Similarly, Smith got under the record with a 53.2 sec. Third on the grid was Allison on 54.2 sec, with Bartlett only 0.1 sec slower. Again Smith won the drag from Lawrence as the pace car pulled off the track and the flag came down on the 10 car field. Allison, desperate not to lose any ground, tried taking the T400's of Stewart and Bartlett on the outside of the loop and found himself sliding backwards on the grass. Somewhat annoyed with himself, he resumed the race behind the field. On lap three, Stewart moved past Lawrence to take second and began closing on Smith. Four laps later Stewart stormed by the older model Lola. But soon after, he found all sorts of throttle control problems, caused by a small pebble which had found its way onto the floor of the Lola. While Stewart was sorting out his problem, both Smith and Lawrence slipped by, relegating the luckless Australian driver back to third place. After 10 laps Allison had moved back up to fifth place and was gaining on Bartlett. On lap 17 Lawrence had a spin at the Elbow, which allowed Stewart back into second spot, but Lawrence got the position back again after a further eight laps. Bartlett had lost touch with the front three drivers because of brake problems. But Smith's Lola started slowing by lap 38, due to an overheating engine and Lawrence surged past into the lead. On lap 42 Redman was in the pits with a wobbly right rear wheel. Three of the studs in the wheel had loosened, one jamming the rim and damaging the hub sufficient enough to force him to retire. Ten laps from the finish, Stewart coasted to a halt in the pits with a dead engine. Although his oil pressure had been falling, Max was able to restart his engine. He then decided it wasn't worth risking it, as there was so little of the race left. As it happened, an annoyed Stewart learned, after Graeme Lawrence had taken his long-awaited victory, that he was classed as a non-finisher due to not crossing the finish line after the chequered flag had fallen. Bernasconi pushed his car over the line after it had cut out just short of the finish. He was declared as not classified as he hadn't covered two-thirds of the race distance. This seems to be a regulation that is applied when it suits, as it certainly wasn't applied a week before at Wigram.

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1976 Teretonga

19th Teretonga International Date: 25th January 1976 Venue: Teretonga Park 62 laps of 2.575kms (159.65kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Graeme Lawrence Ken Smith Kevin Bartlett Bruce Allison Jim Murdoch John Edmonds
Baron Robertson

NZ

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

62 62 61 61 59 55 53 52 42 39

56m 56.6s 57m 34.6s

NZ

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8
NZ NZ

Begg 018 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 Chevron B29 / BMW 2000cc 4cyl Begg FM4 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 (Record).

Aust Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 UK NZ Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Ret Max Stewart Ret Brian Redman NC Paul Bernasconi DNQ Gary Love

Engine Wheel Studs

Fastest lap: Graeme Lawrence, 53.4 sec

Return to 1976 Series

Australian Series Rounds 1 - 4

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1976 Season Australia

1976 Season Australia

THE 1976 SERIES
There was no Tasman Series for 1976. For 12 years, the Tasman motor racing series had been the premiere event on both the New Zealand and Australian motor racing calendars. Originally devised as a true international contest, to bring the world's best drivers down under, and to give the locals the chance to try themselves against world class drivers, the series was no more. The two countries split and ran their own four race series. New Zealand ran its normal four races under the sponsorship of Peter Stuyvesant, and this was followed one week later by a four race series in Australia, sponsored by Rothmans. Possibly Australia has seen a better International Series, and the 1976 Rothmans Series will certainly go down in the record books as being the one held under the worst weather conditions. Only one race was run on a dry track. Another race, the final scheduled to be run at the Surfers Paradise circuit, was first postponed due to the rain and finally cancelled for the same reason. If nothing else, the inclement weather proved to most of the Australian drivers that if they intended competing in Europe they would have to improve on their wet weather preparation and organisation. Australian born, international driver, Vern Schuppan demonstrated that his five years experience on the European and American racing scenes had been of tremendous value. The talented 32 year old driver won round one at Oran Park in the wet because he was the first to pit for rain tyres. Had it remained dry, it is very doubtful if Schuppan could have kept up with the front runners, as his Alan Smith built Chevy engine was way down on power. Had the amicable Australian received wet weather rubber on the Theodore Racing Lola T332 on the grid prior to the start as he requested, round two would have been Schuppan's also. Instead he received intermediates and finished second to the New Zealand 1976 Peter Stuyvesant series winner, Ken Smith, who was also Lola T332 mounted. The third, as it happened, the final round, run at Sandown Park, saw Schuppan notch up another second place to virtually clinch the title. Had round four not been cancelled, there was an outside chance that Ken Smith could have taken out the series. The nuggety, often dour, New Zealand driver's best effort was at Adelaide, where he won after leading for the entire race. His Chev powered Lola proved to be both fast and reliable.
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1976 Season Australia

In round two he secured pole, having recorded a time 0.6 sec under Graeme Lawrence's lap record, and in the other two rounds he finished third in round one and fourth in the third round. Biggest surprise of the 1976 series was Anglo-American John Cannon. The 40 year old driver had done very little racing in the past two years, although he was a familiar figure on the American scene for about 16 years, having won the L&M F5000 series in 1970. The car he brought to Australia was somewhat of an unknown quantity, too, being basically a March F1 chassis built in 1975 and modified in the US to take a Bartz Chev V8 engine. Doubts concerning the handling of the relatively narrow track car with a heavy cast iron production based five litre V8 in the rear were soon dispelled during the first round when Cannon and his hybrid March-Chev handled the varying conditions on the tight Oran Park GP circuit admirably. Cannon's victory in round three at Sandown Park, his March literally falling to pieces around him, will be remembered by the huge crowd which gathered for the only round in fine weather and also the many more thousands who viewed the live telecast. An electrical problem, aggravated by the wet conditions, relegated the likeably English-born driver to the did-not-finish category in the first two rounds and, at Surfers, Cannon practiced third fastest before rain soaked the circuit and bettered Frank Matich's record of 66.4 secs by 0.3 secs. At Oran Park, Kevin Bartlett, in his Lola T400 Chev, displayed the talent which was prominent a few years ago. The former twice Australian champion pitted for wet weather tyres just after Schuppan and started to work his way up to second place, despite having lost the oil in his front shock absorbers. After being delayed by two punctures at Adelaide, Bartlett splashed home in fifth place to gain a further two points, the last points he was to add to his final total of eight. Bartlett had been holding fourth at Sandown before retiring with a stripped third gear. In the first round, and for practice for round two, Bartlett had a single plane crankshaft engine fitted to his Lola T400, but the lightweight titanium rods cracked around the webs and the Sydney driver was forced to use a more normal two plane crank Chev unit. That the points score total does not provide a true indication, or even any indication at all, of the potential of all drivers is shown by the totals against John Goss (6), David Purley (1) and John McCormack (1). Four drivers, Bruce Allison, Graeme Lawrence, Johnnie Walker and Max Stewart didn't even make the list. John Goss, driving his spare ex-Kevin Loy updated A51 to A53 Matich, was one of the drivers who waited too long to call in for rain tyres during the first round. At Adelaide, he found the concrete wall while fiddling with his visor in the rain. But in the third round the voluble Sydney driver demonstrated his true form by setting a new lap record of 61.5 secs, 0.1 secs inside the previous time jointly held by Graham McRae and Peter Gethin, and finished third after being delayed by a flat tyre.

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1976 Season Australia

Whether Purley is a match for Australia's best or not, was not proven in the series. The English F1 and F5000 driver's mount which was a cobbled up T330/332 Lola not, as reported, the ex-Ian Ashley T332, was nudged by Bartlett's T400 at Oran Park and badly bent at Adelaide when the throttle stuck open. Purley was loaned the second Sharp Lola T400 for round three but was outed by a blown head gasket. McCormack wasn't prepared for the rain which fell during round one, was unhappy with the way his Elfin was handling at Adelaide, and blew his engine in unofficial practice at Sandown Park. The rain at Oran Park was Allison's undoing when he hit the wall, attempting to hold his lead while still on slicks. He was without his car for round two and was driving a great race at Sandown, mostly without a clutch, when a valve dropped into the Molloy engine due to overrevving during a clutchless gear change. The Queensland driver was brilliant at practice in Surfers, lapping his home circuit at 65.8 secs, 0.6 secs inside the record. Lawrence, in the Lola T332 Chev, succumbed to the rain in round one, survived two punctures at Adelaide to finish eighth, and lost a certain third place during the third round when his transmission failed on the penultimate lap. For Walker, Adelaide and Sandown were all his budget would permit. Numerous pit stops to clear his fogging visor kept the South Australian driver back in the field, where he finally finished in ninth place. A sizzling 61.1 second pole time at Sandown seemed to indicate that round three would be John's, but a mysterious loss of power in one cylinder in the Repco Holden engine early in the race caused his retirement. Stewart missed round one because his car hadn't been landed back in Australia following the New Zealand series. Fuel pressure problems plagued the car at Adelaide during practice, so Max transferred to the second Sharp T400, usually driven by Paul Bernasconi, for the race, only to have the rear tyre deflate. In attempting to make it to the pits, the bottom of the suspension upright wore through and the lower trailing link pick-up point broke away. A rather nasty crash into the safety fence during practice at Sandown which wrecked the Lola amazingly left the driver intact, albeit a little sore. Overall it was a good series, despite the rain. For some reason the spectators at Sandown Park seemed to be the most enthusiastic and appreciative of F5000 racing, perhaps it was because at the other rounds the patrons enthusiasm was dampened by the rain.

Back to 1976 Series

Round 1 Oran Park

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1976 Australia Tasman Races

1976 Rounds 1 - 4 Australia

Round One: ORAN PARK

From an unbelievable 28 entries for the first round of the four race Australian International Series, only 13 started the 62 lap race run on the 2.6 km, long, Oran Park Grand Prix circuit, and only seven finished the event. Of the seven cars which were taken to New Zealand for the series there, three, the Sharp Lola T400's driven by Max Stewart and Paul Bernasconi, and John Edmond's ex-Garrie Cooper Elfin MR5, had not arrived back on Aussie soil, and this accounted for three scratchings. John Goss had entered both his usual Matich A53 Repco Holden and the exKevin Loy, ex-Ian Douglass updated A51 to A53 similar car. He chose to compete in the latter car. Geoffrey Brabham was an entry in a Lola T332 Chev but the car didn't arrive from the US and the Australian Formula Two Champion's debut in F5000 was to be deferred while Jack and son went to the UK chasing a Formula Three drive. Johnnie Walker was also a scratching, his Lola T332 Repco Holden was not race-ready and the talented South Australian was short on finance. Practice for most of the drivers brought little joy as they fought to keep their cars on the slippery and dirty circuit. John McCormack had a wild spin in the Elfin MR6 after crossing the bridge. Bruce Allison and Ken Smith did the same in their respective Lolas but in a less spectacular manner. David Purley, too, was having his share of loses mainly due to a loss of fuel pressure and hence power out of the corners. Quickest was Allison, having knocked 0.2 secs off his previous best time in the second session. Lawrence equaled this time in the final session. Schuppan methodically adjusted to the circuit and conditions and settled for number three slot, while McCormack really turned on the flat plane crank Repco Holden to record a 66.9 second lap which was still good enough for the second row by the end of the day. The single plane crank Chev engine of Bartlett's seemed to be working well also, giving the Lola driver fifth fastest time. Bartlett, on returning to the pits and finding a smaller racing car encroaching on his pit space tried nudging it with one of his front wheels. The Lola's steering wheel flicked around, inflicting a painful injury to Bartlett's thumb and wrist. In contrast to practice day, the weather on the Sunday caught a few drivers napping. Rain fell around midday, but appeared to be clearing for the race. The experienced Schuppan cast his eyes skyward and called for his bubble visor. New Zealand driver Baron Robertson was a scratching, the engine in his Elfin MR5 was sucking air through a hole in the side of the inlet port. Ken Shirvington did not start either, as his ex-Teddy Pilette Lola T400 had engine problems. All cars on the grid were shod with slicks as Lawrence led Schuppan and Allison down past the pits and into the fast left hander for the first time. A cloud of dust announced that someone had failed to negotiate the corner. It was Jon Davison, the brakes on his immaculate Matich A52 having failed due to a fractured brake line. Purley, who was sitting in fourth after the start, was soon displaced by Goss. McCormack was sixth, followed by Bartlett, his swollen wrist deadened by pain killing injections, Leffler, Cannon, Smith, Hook and Gil Cameron in the McLaren M10B. Rain began falling on the fifth lap and Bartlett's Lola all but climbed over Purley's similar car, causing the English driver to back off. McCormack took advantage of the situation and shot past the slowing black Lola and Allison's similarly painted Lola T332 disposed of the Theodore Racing car shortly afterwards. Lawrence was maintaining a comfortable 4.5 second gap to Allison as Purley pitted briefly. Then Cannon and Leffler had a coming together, with the T400 Lola losing the battle. It was still spitting with rain as the remaining 11 cars, still with Lawrence in the lead, entered the 10th lap. Goss was making a bid to take Schuppan, who was finding his Lola a trifle twitchy, his left rear tyre was slowly deflating and the engine was down on power. It took a further six laps to dispose of the ailing Lola but despite the tyre problem, Schuppan kept Goss in his sights.
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1976 Australia Tasman Races

Meanwhile, Allison was hauling in Lawrence until, on lap 18, the New Zealand driver spun on the slowest corner of the circuit, losing 14 seconds. Back in the field, in seventh place, Bartlett was having a difficult time keeping Smith at bay. Cannon was nine seconds ahead of Bartlett, who was being led by McCormack and Schuppan until, on lap 26, the Theodore car pitted for a new left rear tyre. By lap 35 the field had slowed drastically as the rain became much heavier. Lawrence didn't slow enough, however, and found himself uncontrollably heading for the wall at the end of the straight under the bridge. Goss did a 360degree spin and McCormack slipped his car into second place. For some reason Cannon's March, on slicks, didn't seem to be bothered by the wet conditions as much as the others. First in for rain tyres was Schuppan on lap 37 and, after a 1m 45sec stop, he was out again lapping 10 seconds faster than anyone else. Bartlett was next four laps later but Peter Molloy was playing a waiting game in the Allison pit. The rain didn't ease but Allison was in the lead and his manager didn't want to call him in. Eventually, most of the other serious drivers pitted for wet weather rubber. By lap 48 Allison was barely hanging onto his lead, Goss, not having changed tyres, was second. Five laps later, Schuppan took the lead as Allison finally overcooked it, slamming into a concrete barrier at the foot of the main straight. Like Purley's Lola, Schuppan's lack of power was no longer a disadvantage and he was able to lap faster than any other driver remaining in the race. Despite anxious faces in the Theodore Racing pits concerning Vern's fuel supply, the delighted Australian received the chequered flag 16.5 seconds ahead of Bartlett and in third place was Smith, more than a lap down. A lot of people hoped that for 1977 there would not be the last minute hassle of drivers requesting that the organisers reduce the race distance because their Lolas wouldn't make it on their fuel load. That's what happened in round two at the Adelaide Raceway. Date: 2nd February 1976 Venue: Oran Park 62 laps of 2.61kms (161.82kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

1 2 3 4 5 6

Vern Schuppan

Aust

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Matich A53 / Repco 4994cc V8 Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

62 62 61

Kevin Bartlett Ken Smith

John Goss

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 NZ

Aust

David Purley Ret Bruce Allison Ret Graeme Lawrence Ret John Leffler Gil Cameron John Cannon
Terry Hook

UK
NZ

Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Accident Accident Accident

Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust McLaren M10B / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 UK
Aust

March 75AM / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Matich A52 / Repco 4994cc V8

Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 0 Brakes Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Elfin MR6 / Repco 4994cc V8
NZ Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8

Ret Jon Davison

Ken Shirvington

John McCormack DNS Baron Robertson

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1976 Australia Tasman Races

DNA Johnnie Walker DNA Geoffrey Brabham DNA John Edmonds DNA Max Stewart DNA Paul Bernasconi

Aust Lola T332 / Repco 4994cc V8

Aust Lola T332 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Aust Elfin MR5 / Repco 4994cc V8 Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8 Aust Lola T400 / Chevrolet 4995cc V8

Round Two: ADELAIDE

Date: 9th February 1976 Venue: Adelaide Raceway 67 laps of 2.41kms (161.5kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

Round Three: Sandown

Date: 16th February 1976 Venue: Sandown 52 laps of 3.11kms (161.50kms)

Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

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1976 Australia Tasman Races

Round Four: Surfers Paradise

Date: 23rd February 1976 Venue: Surfers Paradise 50 laps of 3.21kms (160.5kms)
Result Driver Nat Car Laps Time

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